Justicia pectoralis is a herb

Herb

Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...

 of the Acanthus family (Acanthaceae). This water-willow is widely known as tilo in Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

. In Haiti

Haiti

Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

 it is called chapantye and zeb chapantyè on Dominica

Dominica

Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...

 and Martinique

Martinique

Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...

. Other folk names are carpintero ("carpenter"), té criollo ("Criollo

Criollo (people)

The Criollo class ranked below that of the Iberian Peninsulares, the high-born permanent residence colonists born in Spain. But Criollos were higher status/rank than all other castes—people of mixed descent, Amerindians, and enslaved Africans...

tea"), curia, death-angel, masha-hari, or "piri piri". This species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 was described by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin

Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin

Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin or Baron Nikolaus von Jacquin. was a scientist who studied medicine, chemistry and botany....

 in 1760, who provided additional data in 1763. A well-marked variety, var. stenophylla, was described by Emery Clarence Leonard

Emery Clarence Leonard

Emery Clarence Leonard was an American botanist known for his work on the Acanthaceae plant family and on the flora of Haiti.-References:...

 in 1958.

Traditional uses

Across its range it is used in folk medicine as a relaxant and general tonic.

Extracts

Scientific study indicates that extracts of J. pectoralis as well as the isolated chemical constituents coumarin

Coumarin

Coumarin is a fragrant chemical compound in the benzopyrone chemical class, found in many plants, notably in high concentration in the tonka bean , vanilla grass , sweet woodruff , mullein , sweet grass , cassia cinnamon and sweet clover...

 and umbelliferone

Umbelliferone

Umbelliferone, also known as 7-hydroxycoumarin, hydrangine, skimmetine, and beta-umbelliferone, is a widespread natural product of the coumarin family. It occurs in many familiar plants from the Apiaceae family such as carrot, coriander and garden angelica, as well plants from other families such...

 possess anti-inflammatory and relaxant effects in animal models.

Other uses

As regards other applications, it is noted for its pleasant smell and as a source of coumarin

Coumarin

Coumarin is a fragrant chemical compound in the benzopyrone chemical class, found in many plants, notably in high concentration in the tonka bean , vanilla grass , sweet woodruff , mullein , sweet grass , cassia cinnamon and sweet clover...

, which it produces in plenty, and which in combination with umbelliferone

Umbelliferone

Umbelliferone, also known as 7-hydroxycoumarin, hydrangine, skimmetine, and beta-umbelliferone, is a widespread natural product of the coumarin family. It occurs in many familiar plants from the Apiaceae family such as carrot, coriander and garden angelica, as well plants from other families such...

 is responsible for many of its notable properties. It is also admixed to epená

Epena

Epena is a city and seat of Epena District in the Likouala Region of northeastern Republic of the Congo....

 (Virola) snuff to make it smell more pleasant. In particular var. stenophylla might also be hallucinogenic in certain preparations; it is known to wajacas (shamans) of the Craós (Krahós, Krahô) tribe in Brazil, who know that variety as mashi-hiri and consider it a potent entheogen

Entheogen

An entheogen , in the strict sense, is a psychoactive substance used in a religious, shamanic, or spiritual context. Historically, entheogens were mostly derived from plant sources and have been used in a variety of traditional religious contexts...

, not to be taken by the uninitiated.

Etymology

The name "tilo" could be by association with Tilia

Tilia

Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The greatest species diversity is found in Asia, and the genus also occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but not western North America...

, the linden trees. These are entirely unrelated eudicots whose flowers have similar relaxant properties. The water-"willows" are not relatives of the true willows either; like the lindens, the latter belong to the rosid branch of the eudicots.